A data confidence index is a value assigned to data in a field of a data structure in storage, and indicates the confidence a user may have in the data residing in that field. Depending on the meaning represented by the data, a data confidence index may allow a user to answer questions that were difficult, or perhaps impossible, to answer, such as the following, among others: How efficient is a user's supply chain? Can the user accurately determine chargeback information to bill the user's customers? What is the optimal amount of hardware to run a particular process of a publication system?